The Sun. — London, England, 1809-08-10 00:00:00

NAVAL NEWS. PLYMOUTH, AuG. B.—Sailed the Pickle gun brig, with a convoy to the Eastward. Put back the Princess Charlotte frigate, Captain TOBIN. Went up into Barnpool, to refit, the Sedlower, sloop of war. Sailed the Agenoria UNRICE LE Coca, for Guern sey. Arrived, the Union, HAM, from Swansea ; Friends, CUMING, and Two Brothers, ELLIs, from Llanelly. Remain in the Sound his Majesty's ships Princess Charlotte, Swallow, Cossack, Pheasant, Whiting, Goldfinch, Woolwich, Weazle, Lyra, Orestes, Pre voyante, and Gleaner. PORTSMOUTH, AUG. g.—Arrived• his Majesty's ship Diana, of 38 guns, with Sir SIDNEY SMITH on board, from the Brazils ; also t he Nereus frigate from the Downs ; the Hardy gun-brig from a cruize; and the Speedwell, —, from Waterford. Sailed the Success, MORGAN, and Hannah, JAMES, for Bristol. SHEERNESS, AUG. 9.—A Court Martial was held on board his Majesty's ship Magnanime, on Thos. JONES, Boatswain of the Enterprize, for drunken- ness ; the charge being proved, he was sentenced to be dismissed from his Majesty's service, and to serve before the mast, on board any of his Majesty's ships the senior Officer may think proper. Sailed his Majesty's ship Diamond, for Chatham, to refit. The Gotenburgh convoy is expe&ed to sail about Saturday next. DEAL, AUG. g.—Sailed his Majesty's brig Dex terous and Harlequin, with the whole of the out- Ward-bound, &c. under convoy for Portsmouth. CoRK, AUG. 2.—His Majesty's sloop Helena, Capt. WORTH, having a fleet of transports under convoy, yesterday sailed from Cove for Lisbon. T.he following is an excellent illustration of a Well known fact, that the general tendency of cur rents in the ocean, is from the East towards the ,West (COPY.) Neptune, St. john's Road s , A n ti gua , SIR, lune 29, 1809. As the inclosed letters,* picked up in a bottle, on the windward part of the Island of Martinique, on the 18th of April last, tend to elucidate the state of the current in the Atlantic Ocean, I inclose them to you, with a request that you will be pleased to make the circumstance known to the Lords Com missioners of the Admiralty. The bottle appears to have been thrown overboard by the Princess Elizabeth Packet, going to the Bra zils, on the 6th of September, 1808, in lzt. 14. 45. and long. 25. and it must have been carried about two thousand and twenty miles in two hundred and twenty-four days, which gives nine miles per day, on a West course. I am, &c. (Signed) ALEX. COCHRANE. Honourable W. W. Pole. I' Several letters were round in the bottle, addressed to in dividuals. DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZE-NIONEY. FTo his Majesty's sloop Port Mahon, for the capture of the rench privateer Le General Pari s , i n company w i th the t net, on the arrival of the former in port, and afterwards N °. 4, Austin- Friars, every T ues d ay and Thursday for hree months. To his Majesty's ship Cambrian, for the capture of the French ship L'Adeon and cargo, on the 14th inst. at No. t, turd -place, Plym out h , and afterwards at the same place, for three months. To his Majesty's sloop Cormorant, for the capture of the Marianna Danish East Indiaman, on the z sth inst. at No. 23, Norfolk street, Strand, and every Tuesday and Friday for three months, at the same place. To his i:Vlajesty's hired armed cutter Alphea, for the re capture of the Pallas, on board the cutter, on her arrival in port, and every Tuesday and Friday, for three months after, at No. tB, Clement's Inn. To his Majesty's ship Minerva, for the capture of the Vi— gilante every Tuesday and Friday for three months, and at Mr. Lyne's counting-house, Plymouth. To his Majesty's ship Medusa, for 'the capture of L'Actif Fr!ncli privateer, and Hopewell sloop, every Tuesday and Friday tor three months, ,at Mr. Smith's Office, Plymouth oo„ . 0 . his Majesty's ship Minerva, for the recapture of the zoglish brig Caledonia, every Tuesday and Friday for three montit Mr. Lynes counting-house, Franktort-strect, Plymouth. Slit JOHN MOORE. The Marquis Di RomANA has caused a,very splen did Monument to be ereEted to the memory of Sir JORN Mooak, in a conspicuous situation, to which the remains of the lamented hero have been remov ed, trom the obscure place where they were deposit ed in the fortress of Corunna. The following in nriPtion is placed on the Monument : A la Gloria Del General Ingles MOORE, V - Sus tailientes Compatriotas, La Espana Agradecida. (To the Glory Of the E nglish General MOOR I, And h is valiant Countrymen, G latitude of S pain) And on the other side:— Mernoria del Dia t 6 de Enero, tEog. • (Nlemory'of the Adi on o f 1 6 January, a a9l. • It appears from this proceeding the Ma r , so credit a bl e t o quis Da ROMANA, and the Spanish Nation, that the boasted magnanimity of Marshal NaY and his Officers, in ereeting a monument to the departed worth of a hero who was their enemy, was altoge ther without foundation. The relics of Sir JOHN MOORE remained still in the obscure situation in which his afliiated friends had placed them, in a corner of the Citadel, in the night of the evacuation Of Corunna, and it remained for the gratitude of Spain to do his memory that justice, which French men had the vanity to conceive, but not the virtue to carry into et t. MIDDLESEX MEET 11 G . . The Meeting of the Freeholders of this county, announced by public advertisements, yesterday took place at the Mermaid, Hackney. Mr. Sheriff SMITH stated to the Meeting the oh je& for which it was summoned. It was to take into consideration such propositions for reform as woold secure the reality and the use of representation in the Commons House of Parliament. Major CARTWRIGHT then came forward. He supposed that many had been disappointed, when they considered the length of time which had elapsed since the requisition was orignally signed. The sub je& was, however, of a nature and importance which required the most mature consideration, both in the manner and the time for bringing it forward. It was necessary also to consult those men, who had taken their stand in Parliament upon the rock of the Con stittition, and who had felt and proclaimed the ne cessity of resisting and waging war against the wick ed despotism of the faelion of the borough-mongers; a ladion which, for their own private ends, trampled alike on the liberties of the people, and on the au thority of the King. He felt it necessary, in the beginning of his address, to take notice of what bad fallen from a Noble Lord (Lord Selkirk) who had chosen to stand forward as the champion of the faCtion of the Borough-mongers. That Noble Lord had stated in his pamphlet, " that no such reform was necessary; that Parliamentary Reform was not the road to any pra&ical improvement ; that what was stated Of its necessity was not only not true, but that it was the very reverse of the truth." He also stated, t'iat all the exertions in favour of Parliamentary Reform, were, " experiments to throw down the land-marks of the Constitution." If the reasoning of this Champion of the,Borough monger faction were to be considered, and it were to be asked, what it was that he called " the 'land marks of the Constitution," it would be found that he meant nothing but the rotten b6roughs. It appeared to him, however, that such landmarks re sembled the ruins of Rome and Athens; or Merely shewed where great and free nations had once existed, but were destroyed by the corruptions of their Govern ments. Of such landmarks there were abundance ; but they were not the landmarks of the liberties of the country, but of its slavery—(great applause).— Our old Constitution consisted of two branches, the Military and the Civil. The military branch of it consisted of all the people of England, trained to the use of arms, under the direation of the nobility and gentry orthe country. Of ibis ancient military Con stitution not a vestige now remained, and in the place of it we saw nothing but barracks, many of which were filled with German soldiers. Even German Officers had been appointed to the com mand of English distri&s. He therefore considered that all the landmarks of the ancient Military Con stitution of the Country had been completely re moved. As to the civil branch of our ancient Consti tution, the great feature of it was the represent ation of the people in the Commons House of Par liament. Upon the principle of free and equal re presentation, the people of England would be now entitled to 6.58 Representatives, fairly and freely chosen. It appeared that a most decided majority of the 6bB Members of the House of Commons were not chosen, as the Constitution intended, by the free and fair eleftion of the people. In Holy Writ, it had been said, " Cursed be he that re moveth his neighbour's landmark." So much so lemnity had been given to this curse, that it was to be pronounced publicly before the people, and all the people were to say " Amen !" Now, if a curse so solemn was ordered to he denounced against the man who would defraud his neighbour of a' few yards of land, by removing his landmark, how deep a curse ought to light on those traitors, who, by removing the landmarks of our freedom and our Constitution, had done the most essential injury to millions of their countrymen. The House of Com mons had been represented by Mr. Burke, and many distinguished writers, as representing a jury in many respeCts. It had lately been contended, that it was absolutely necessary for Ministers and Placemen to have seats in ,the House, in order to give informa tion. If it were necessary for them to sit there to give information, it appeared to him that they should have a bench to themselves, and not be entitled to vote.. As givers of information, they were in the light of witnesses; but although it was necessary in Courts of Justice that there should be witnesses, and sometimes culprits, yet what would bethought, if the witnesses, after giving their evidence, and the culprit, after making his defence, were immediately to enter the jury -box, and give their opinions on the verdi& ? By the same means which deprived the people of their liberties, the King was also de prived of his authority and independence, and obliged to be dependent on, and a vassal to, the fa&ion of Borough-mongers. His revenues, which used to be furnished to him by the free votes of his loyal subjects, were now given at the pleasure of the Borough-mongers, and he was dependent upon them for every shilling of his revenue. It bad been common hitherto to say, that the ' business of Parliamentary Reform was extremely difficult. It appeared to him, however, to be only difficult, because the people had hitherto been too inattentive to their own interests. If the country could fairly exert itself, the cause of reform must succeed. He was convinced that if the people would assert their rights, they would, without any danger, trample upon those reptiles who had so long trampled upon their liberties. He bad heard a great deal said of temperate and moderate reform. He conceived, however, that in a case where principle was concerned, to be temperate was to be dishonest. Not to be guilty of excess was temperance enough, and it was sufficient moderation not to demand any thing but what was their right, and what was just. —The advantages of unanimity were Often much spoken of ; but it was impossible to have aetUal unanimity, without going back to the first principles of the Constitution. He thought it necessary to make some observations on the events which had recently occurred on the Danube. It was highly probable that the Conqueror would entirely sway the Continent of Europe, and that he would offer peace to England. The peace which he would then offer would appear to him to be completely ruinous to the . country, unless it was preceded by a Parlia mentary Reform, which alone would place us in a si tuation of security against his power. He concluded by giving a variety of Resolutions, stating in sub stance, " that in the year 17g3, it had been offered to be proved at the bar of - the f-rouse of Commons, that 154 individuals return`ed N.l.J.ibers of that House ; that a large proportion of the Members of that House were placemen and pensioners ; and that Thanks should be voted to Sir Francis Burdett, for calling the attention of Parliament to the subject of Refoim ; and that he should be reqnested to bring it forward early in the next Session." Mr. HARE TOWNSH END rose - to second these Re solutions. He stated that he was a farmer, and was fully sensible of the inimense pressure which the country sustained in consequence of the - corrupt system of its Representation'. He read a • long let ter which he had written to the inhabitants of Go dahning upon the subjee.:l; in which he stated, " that he conceived the bow was so far bent, that it could go no further ; that as to tytheS, they were forther ly divided into four parts : the first was for the Bi\- sliop, the second was for the maintenance of the Church, the third share was for the suppot t of the poor, and it was only the fourth part '‘vhich was pocketed by the Reetor. The Rectors, hoi:vever, now pocketed all. After some further observations ) he coeicluded by seconding the Resolutions ; and stating that it was his intention to muVe a petition to Parliament. Mr. MALLET rose to speak more to the form of the proceedings than to the substance of what had been proposed. He thought the pi=oper mode would be In address the King, ❑ot to issue any longer his writs to rotten boroughs. The measures which bad been proposed in Parliament for reforming what he should never call the House of Commons, but the lower House of Parliament, were most ridiculous. As to oaths, there would be no use in them, unless the penalty of perjury were to be attached. He con sidered one party in the House of Commons as equally hostile to the liberties of the country as the other party. He thought there were i o reasons to hope for any thing front the Parliament as it was now constituted; bolt that the only mode of redress was to beseech the King no longer to summon Representatives from the rotten Boroughs. As to the ascendancy of Buonaparte on the Conti nent, be thought that that man had never yet con quered any country; whose subjugation was not first prepared by the corruptions of its own Govern ment. His success might at least teach a useful son to the people of this country. Mr. BUTLEY went over at considerable length some individual abuses (principally in the tees in public offices) which he thought could not have existed under a tail• Representation of the People. He concluded by observing, that now, for ti.e first time, this country had no resident or Ambassador in . any Court in Europe. Mr. WAITHMAN commented on the praaice re sorted to by the enemies of Parliamentary Reform, to endeavour to discover some flaw in the moral charac ters of its supporters, and so abuse the cause by tra ducing its advocates : this spewed only that the cause must be strong indeed, against which no other argu ment could be offered. He concluded by declaring his opinion in favour of a Petition to Parliament. Mr. CLIFFORD supported the Resolutions, and thought the only way of rendering them effeetual, would be by a recommendation not only to all the counties, but to the parish of Mary-le-bonne,• the Tower Hamlets, the great towns, such as Wolver hampton, and all the close boroughs, t .dopt these Resolutions and Petition Parliament. '1 lius the ge neral sense of the people would be ascertained, and would be irresistible. The Resolutions were then put and carried, with only one or two dissentients. Mr. HOLT WRITE read the petition proposed by by M. Hare Townshend, which was adopted ; and upon the motion of Mr. Holt White, it was resolv ed, that Mr. Byng and Mr. Mellish, the Representa tives for the connty, be instruted to present and support the same. Mr. ByNo declared his hearty support to the Re solutions : he avowed himself to be the steady friend and supporter of Parliamentary Reform, as proposed in 1793. He professed himself at all times ready to comply with the instructions of his constituents, whose servant he was, as the best means in his power of inatking his sense of the honour of their good opinion and support. Mr. MELLISH rose; and it was some time before the tumult opposed to him subsided. He said, that should this question come before Parliament, he should attend in his place, and do his duty. lithe proposed Reform coincided with his sentiments, he should vote for it ; but if not, he did not conceive , his constituents had a constitutional power to con troul him to vote contrary to his own sentiments. Major CARTWRIGHT then rose to propose a peti-- lion to his Majesty; and after it was determined by the Meeting under the requisition of the Sheriff, a Petition to his Majesty was not irrelevant to the ob je& of the Meeting, he read the Petition : it was of very great length, and embraced, not only all the to pics of the preceding resolutimis, but a variety of historical points so far back as the last Edward. 'The Major preceded this,reading, by a short re mark, in answer to the opinion of Mr. Mellish, on the duty of a Representative in Parliament. Mr. Tov.'NsEND and Mr. WhiTtot.otN felt them selves obliged to oppose going at present into the me rits of a Petition so voluminous, embracing so many topics, or calling on the Aleeting precipitately to pledge themselves by signing it, as advantage might be taken of some inadvertent phrase or word, by their opponents, to their disadvantage. . • The Petition, therefore, was for the present with drawn. 141 r. WAITIIMAN then expressed high approbation of the conduct of Mr. By and proposed the thanks of the Meeting to him for his uniform support given to Parliamentary Reform, and concluded by moving a vote of thanks to Mr. Byng, which passed unani mously ; and for which that Hon. Gentleman po litely expressed his gratitude. The Thanks of the Meeting were then voted to the Sheriffs, and to Major Cartwright, who severally expressed their grateful sentiments. • The Resolutions, signed by the Sheriffs and Free holders present, were ordered to be published in the Morning Newspapers : and the Meeting was ad journed. His Majesty's Ship La Loi,e, with the Windham, Union, Charleston, Sir William Pnitenebs, and Northampton East Indian - len, Perseverance and Whalers, arrived at Madeira on tic 19th FROM THE SPANISH PAPERS. ROYAL DECREE . " SzVtu.e.—lf there are sonic Provinces Of the kingdoin, which, from the beginning occupied by the enemy, hive not been able to manifest all the sentiments of zeal and patriotism which animate them, those which in the same situation have been able, in spite of all obstatles; to manifest their re sistance, are entitled to the entire esteem of the State, for their extraordinary and generous exertions. Of this kind has been Catalonia. When its for tresses were given up, and its capital was occupied by cowardly treachery, its inhabitants, instead of being dismayed, fleo. , to arms every town became a fortress; and every Catalan was a soldier. The was of the laSt year has been to this noble and loyal Province an age of glory. " Among all the towns which have deserved well of their country, Gerona is thstinguished by its vigorous resistance. Twice it has been invested, and twice it has driven back its assailants, without any other means of defence, than a small number of troops of the line, and its valiant inhabitants.-- , - But its advantageous situation, and the. importance of its occupation, have induced the enemy to un dertake a third siege wi th fresh reinforcements and renewed ardour. Its result will doubtless be like that of both the former sieges, it the resources of the Province are joined with those of the city. The brave inhabitants, to give to their resistance the augu't and elevated character which a war demands, which is carried on against an enemy who Is more impious an,l sacrilegious towards God than he is its human towards men, have raised within their wails a crusade, in imitation of that which was established in Estretnadura, with so great bent it to the State. Countrymen of every rank, the clergy, both secular and regular; all in emulation of each other, arranged themselves under their holy banners, and a to,► n of such stu.al population was able in three days to taise for their defence eight companies of 100 men each, completely organized and aimed. The Supeme Junta has not only applauded, with the most li►eiy satisfaolion, these demonstrations of patriotic and religious zeal, and hastened to reward them, but has resolved to make the valiant inhabitants of that principality participator j in the same mein and the same rewards. " Catalans ! Ye are as much interested in the preservation of Gerona as it, inhabitants. It is now the key of Catalonia. While it remains in your power, the French will find themselves at all times liable to be driven from the cuuntiy; if ye lute it, oceans of blood must be shed to redeem you from their yoke. If ye truly love your liberty, if ye abhor the French, and preserve the heroic spirit of your ancestors; if ye choose to make use of your valour, and perform great sacrifices, direct your views to the salvation of Gerona. Arm yourselves, pursue the direttions which the General of the Pro vince gives you, and let the French, a third time, sustain the insult of being driven away. " To excite and reward the zeal and patriotism of the inhabitants, in a concern of so great moment, the King our Sovereign, Ferdinand VII. and in his name the Supreme Governing Junta, , has decreed as follows: " 1. It approves of the crusade which, in imita tion of that of EAremadua, the city of Gerona has formed for its defence. " 2. It invites all Catalans to enlist under thy same rules and leaders. " 3. All those who shall assume the Cross, and who shall be proved to have continued in the service during the whole of the war with France, shall, and also their sons and descendants, be exempt from the personal tax for ever. " 4. All who shall not be subjed to this contri bution, and shall render the same service, shall :s rewarded proportionably. " The Marquis of ASTORGA, President." " Royal Castle of Seville, 28th June, 1809." TARRAGONA, buy £2. [From the GAZITTZ EXTRAORDINARY of the princi- pality of Catalonia.] " His Excellency the Marquis de Coupigny has just received the following dispatches Most Excellent Sir—While the chiefs of the several corps are preparing a detailed account of all the individuals who have on this memorable morn ing covered themselves with immortal glory, in the defence of the Castle of Monjuich, I cannot help anticipating this pleasing intelligence, for your greater satisEadion, and that you may impart it to his Majesty. No pen can adequately paint this glorious day ; and I will therefore only inform your Excellency for the present, that at day-break this -morning the enemy surrounded the said Castle with boot) ;idea troops, as one of their wounded declares, menacing an attack upon three breaches, more particularly upon the largest of them. All the troops whic(L garrisoned the castle instantly occupied their posts with the greatest order, maintaining the same which had been pointed out to them by the Governor sumo days before, and received the enemy with admirdb:tt firinoess. Five assaults were made,by hint duritqs the two hours while the atiair lasted, but in all th, five he was put to a shameful flight, ieavii q ; the ditch, and the covered way which leads to the to,t cr of St. Lewis, covered with'lds dead. The artillery of the place and its forts kepi u;) the action with the valour which , be;:aine them, causing great slaughter to the enemy, who never cease;. to tire grenades, bombs, ticc. upon the city anti forti fications; but this did no damage to the inh:-tbifants or troops, who maintained their serenity and atten tion to their duty. All are heroes : I ascended the castle with the reserve, several piquets of infantry, the Staff, and some individuals who voluntarily accompanied me. I could not avoid acknowledging to those brave de fenders how highly they had merited the gratitude of their country ; and I distributed rewards 'among them, in the name of the King our Sovereign, in proportion to the merits of each. Our loss slight, in comparison with the vigour and obstin4cy of the assaults : but that of the enemy has nez-u great, from the well &retied musquetry of cur troops, and the infinite number of bombs, grenades, &c. which were sent among them by the besieged, while they covered with glory the arms ar our loved King, Ferdinand VII. On this happy day, and while no other soiticil than those of joy were heard, an accident to:A , : dace which somewhat cllbittcred our eni,)meut